[jessiethe3rd]

Phones are a carrot... since carriers (especially in North America) choose to offer the highest rates they in return discount the phones for locking in on the commitment. This is quite possibly why we have the highest rates in the world. Since moving to Canada I have noticed little competition and very little flexibility in regards to plans. You can go with a cheap service like Kudo or Fido and you still pay out of the ying yang for a data package, good minutes, and texting. Until these Mobile Telcos are really pressed I don't foresee the practice of discount handsets going away. Here in NA at least I see the trend swinging even more of the favor of the hardware manu and the telco with all these exclusives. It pays big bucks and people at the end of the day want the technology and could care less about the actual service (technology being the hardware.) See AT&T with their lockdown of the iPhone. When people start figuring it out (and unlocking devices) you get this "it could be a terriorist act!" wording appearing from the carriers and the manufactures. BOGUS. Until the Telcos are regulated and they quit their noncompetition practice we'll all be raked over the coals. It's like MaBell and the 80s all over again but this time the players are separate companies with unspoken business practices and rules... in the end the consumers lose.